Cross-Linguistic Adaptation of Vocal Fatigue Handicap Questionnaire into Kannada (VFHQ-K).

BACKGROUND

It is often considered appropriate to assess vocal fatigue using a self-reported tool or a subjective measure, as vocal fatigue is primarily described through self-reported symptoms. The vocal fatigue handicap questionnaire (VFHQ) is a self-rated questionnaire that addresses the concern of vocal fatigue in persons with voice disorders. Adapting and validating this questionnaire into the Kannada language can be helpful in assessing the physical, emotional, and functional effects of vocal fatigue among Kannada-speaking individuals.

OBJECTIVE

Adaptation and Validation of the VFHQ into the Kannada language.

STUDY

DESIGN

A validation study.

METHOD: Initially, the VFHQ was translated into Kannada. The translated questionnaire was given to two SLPs and two Linguists for content validation and to assess the cultural and linguistic equivalency. 65 participants (34 males and 31 females) were diagnosed with voice disorders, and 65 participants who were age and gender-matched and had healthy voices were administered the Kannada version of VFHQ (VFHQ-K).

RESULTS

The results showed that the VFHQ-K had good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and known groups' discriminative validity. The cut-off point of the VFHQ-K was equal to 26.50, indicating that the VFHQ-K had acceptable discrimination between the patients with and without dysphonia.

CONCLUSION

VFHQ-K is a valid, reliable, and sensitive questionnaire to assess the emotional, physical, and functional effects of vocal fatigue in the Kannada-speaking population.